Universal communications operator&#39;s chair



Nov. 4, 1958 w. E. WOODSON, JR 2,358,876

UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS CHAIR Filed March 25, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WESLE E. woooso/v, JR

Nov. 4, 1958 w. E. WOODSON, JR

UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March23, 1956 INVENTOR- WESLEY E. WOODSON, JR WM 2- WM ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 2,858,876 UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS CHAIR WesleyE. Woodson, Jr., El Cajon, Califi, assignor to the United States ofAmerica as represented by the Secretary of the Navy 1 The inventiondescribed hereinmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government ofthe UnitedStates for governmental purposes without the payment of anyroyalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to communications operator chairs and moreparticularly to a chair which is com pletely adjustable and whichprovides adequate support during rough sea or air flight operation.

Heretofore there have been many types of chairs with adjustable featuressuch as those used as pilot seats, oflice chairs, dental and barberchairs, operating tables, drafting stools, and telephone operatorchairs.- Although these chairs have many desirable features, nonepossess the complete adjustability desired by the operators nor are theysuitable for holding the operator firmly in the seat during pitching androlling of a ship or plane without the use of safety belts.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a chaircompletely adjustable to provide operator comfort, posture control andsecurely support the occupant in rough sea or air operation.

Another object is the provision of a chair designed to securely supportthe occupant in rough sea or air operation without the use of seatstraps or the use of the occupants hands for support.

Still another object is the provision of a chair readily adjustable tomeet the needs of the occupant and which utilizes novel arm rests, thighclamps and kidney pads to maintain a steady secure body position inrough sea or air operation.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same become better understood byreference as to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a pictorial view of one form of the chair;

Fig. 2 is a pictorial view of another form of the chair in which thekidney pads and back rest are upholstered to form one piece and in whichthe top portion of the arm rest-thigh support pivots inwardly to clampthe operators abdomen;

Fig. 3 shows the kidney pad vertical and tilt adjustment and thevertical arm rest adjustment;

Fig. 4 shows how the arm rest may be tilted inwardly for thigh support;

Fig. 5 shows structure for tilting the seat;

Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show the chair used in three of its several possiblepositions; and

Fig. 9 shows the means for pivoting and maintaining the upper portion ofthigh supports of Fig. 2, in a fixed position.

Referring now to Fig. 1, chair 10 offers adjustments for the width ofthe kidney pads 11, height of pads, fore and aft movement of the pads,height of seat 12 from the floor, height of arm rests-thigh supports 13,distance between the upper portions of these supports, complete swivelof the entire seat, fore and aft movement of the adjustability of thechair makes it readily adapted for normal table height sitting as shown.in Fig. 6, counter height sitting as shown in Fig. 7, wherein the footrest is used and the arm rests are used as thigh clamps for supportingthe operator during rough sea or airoperation, or sit-standing as inFig. 8 wherein the operator is utilizing the arm rest.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 3,-and 4, the two kidney pads 11 arelaterally adjustablewith respect to each other from 10 to 15 inches inwidth by means of conventional resilient members 16 and the pads as aunit are laterally extensible by means of mounting member 20 which maybe adjustably mounted on support rod 17 as by a knob. 44 having aportion 45 threadedly engaged in the rod 17 and disposed in a slot 46 inmember 20 or in any known conventional manner. Support rod 17 isvertically adjustable to permit raising the kidney pads 11 r from 6inches to 14 inches above the seat. Knob 18 frictionally secures rod 17to the base of the chair. The fore and aft tilting of the kidney pads(up to 30") is accomplished by rotating knob 19 whichcauses bracket 21to pivot about pin 22 which connects the bracket to the chair frame 23as shown in Fig. 5. The height of the chair may be made adjustable from18 inches to 32 inches above'the floor in any of many conventional ways.For example, extensible telescopic members 24, 26 with frictional stop27 is shown in Fig. 1. The arm rest 13 is vertically adjustable up to 10inches above the seat by means of rod 29 slidable through an aperture inmounting bracket 31 and frictionally retained by knob 32. Referring nowto Fig. 4, the inward pivoting of the arm rest-thigh support 13 isaccomplished when the operator pushes inwardly on the top thereof.Connecting rods 33 connect the mounting brackets 31, which pivot about34 on the chair frame 23, with a bell crank 36 pivotally mounted on thebottom side of frame 23. Any type of locking means may be used to retainthe thigh support 13 in its inward tilted position. For example, ratchetand release mechanisms or pin and keeper locks (not shown) may be used.Fig. 2 shows a modification of the chair in that the kidney pads havebeen designed to include a wraparound feature and a backrest. Fig. 2further shows the upper portion 38 of the thigh support 13 pivotinginwardly above the operators thighs and against his abdomen, relative tothe support 13. A pivot 28 as shown in Fig. 9 extends downwardly intosupport 13 and a set screw 15 is positioned to rest against the pivot 28securing it in any selected position. Other types of locking means,convenient'to the operator, may be employed to maintain the upperportion 38 in a fixed position. The wraparound feature of the contouredback with its extended upper back support controls side sway andbackward pitch, while the thigh clamps and seat contour (forward edge ofseat higher than rearward edge) control side sway and forward pitch.

The forward tilt of seat 12 is best shown in Fig. 5 where it is shownpivotally connected to chair frame 23 at 39. Latch 41 pivotally mountedat pivot point 22 on frame 23 holds the seat 12 in its horizontalposition until it is disengaged from pin 42 attached to the underside ofseat 12. Linkage 43 limits the degree of tilt to the sit-standingposition shown in Fig. 8. This chair is capable of 360 swivel actionwith means for locking it in any desired position. The fore-aft movementis shown in Fig. 1 wherein the base is slidable on tracks and can belocked in any desired position. In shipboard use on metal decks, thebase may be locked to the deck through use of magnets housed in the feetof the base. The footrest 14 may be folded to non-used position as inFig. 6 or may be telescopically adjustable as shown in Fig. 1. When thefootrest is used it provides bracing support to enable the operator topress firmly against the kidney pads, insuring the operator offirmsupport' during pitching motion. -'The cross-.bar'of footrest 14 islongenough that the operator may firmly place his feet thereon in,spacedfr'elation to further provide firm support during swayingor siderolling motion.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the presentv inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. It isithe'refore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appendedclaims the. inventionmaybe practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

" What is claimed is:

1; In a'chair of the class-described, means for positioning andsupporting v an occupant in turbulent motion, said means.cornprising'kidney padsadjustably mounted to ...the rear-of the seat ofsaidlehairtofit against thelower region'of said occupants back and thighclamps adjustably mounted on' the sides of said, chair to inwardly press.against said occupants' thighs, said ,kidney padsbeing ofwrap-arounddesign and being adjustable inheightand. lateral positionforplacement against said occupantsback,

. said thigh clamps having van upper portion thereofrotatable to pressagainst 'said .occupants abdomen,.said kidney pads and thighclampsfifirmly securingsaidoccupant against rearward pitch and sidesway, saidupperportion of said clampss'ecuring said occupantagainstforward. pitch. 2. In a chair'of the classdescribed, a chair-base, meansfor positioning and supporting an occupant during. tur- 4 bulentmotion,.said means including kidney pads mounted V on said base andadjustable to fit against an operators back, a seat having a raisedfront edge, adjustable arm rests pivotally mounted on the sides of saidbase to rotate inwardly to press against the operators thighs, and anadjustable footrest against which the operator may press his feet tovthereby firmly press hisback against vsaid kidney pads, said footresthaving lateral width to permit the operators .feetto .be placed inspaced relation thereon,

said footrest, kidney-pads, raised seat edge and arm rests supportingthe occupant during pitching and. rolling motion, said arm rests havinga top portion thereof pivotally mounted to the lower portion-thereof toswing inwardly about one end thereof to support the occupants abdominalregion to provide additional support during forward pitch of turbulentmotion.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTSMiller Dec. 14,1954

